Atrium – Main Stage
Sugababes
Despite changing their line-up more times than we care to remember, the Sugababes have been one of the most prominent all girl groups of the decade. Having had six UK number 1’s as well as 5 top 40 albums, the Brit award winning Sugababes are without doubt the biggest act to feature at the May Ball in recent history. Their appearance at the May Ball 08 signifies the end of their sell-out UK tour and the performance of Amelle, Heidi and Keisha is guaranteed to blow you away.
East 17
Named after an East London post-code, East 17 were one of the famous acts of the 90’s and shared the limelight with acts such as Take That and 5ive. During their time at the top they achieved 18 top twenty singles and who could forget their 1994 Christmas number one ‘Stay another day’, which stayed at the top of the charts for 5 weeks. Famed for their parker jackets and cockney swagger, East 17 will bring with them a dose of high quality 90’s brit-pop.
Zane Lowe
Following on from last year’s appearance, Zane makes a welcome return to Derby and will bring with him an action-packed set full of energy and charisma. New Zealand born Zane currently plays the 7-9 slot Mondays through to Thursday on Radio 1.
Judge Jules
Since he exploded onto the scene in 1987, multi-award winning Judge Jules has mesmerised the dance music scene with his mixing skills and his passion for music. Over the past decade he has played at venues such as Cream, Godskitchen, Gatecrasher and Progress and he is sure to take the May Ball by storm. Judge Jules plays on Radio 1 every Saturday between 1-3 am.
Sway
Bio coming...
Ace & Vis
Ace and Invisible are Radio 1/1Xtra’s finest new talent! Known to their fans as Ace and Vis, they won a Sony Gold Award for their lunchtime show on 1Xtra in 2004 and they now co-present 1Xtra’s drive-time slot from 4-7pm on weekdays along with the Radio 1/xtra takeover every weekend on Radio 1. The ‘takeover’ sees Ace and Vis given full control of Radio 1 each Saturday for an hour of trouble and tunes - whether you’re into DnB, Bassline, Hip hop or Dancehall, they’ve got you covered!
Dan Bailey
Having had 8 years playing time on Radio 1 as well as endless appearances in some of the UK’s top clubbing venues, Dan will make sure that you are still dancing away right up until 6 in the morning.
With residents: Barri Symonds & Rich Hyde
SUB - The Live Stage
Hosted by Susumi Live and Perfect Motion
The Dykeenies
Up until now The Dykeenies have been Scotland’s best-kept secret, a five-pronged sensory assault of sex, synths and glamour whose music - soaring new wave pop symphonies with hooks so monumental they could be used to mount the scalps of lesser peers onto their living room wall - may not yet have gnawed its way into the collective consciousness of the nation, but that won’t be the case for much longer. They’ve played on the NME Rock ‘n’ Roll Riot Tour, supported Maximo Park and opened the new NME Venue in Luton as well as playing the infamous T in the Park in 2007 and the massive SXSW Festival in Texas.
The Displacements
Kicking up a huge storm in their hometown Leicester as well as neighbouring midlands cities, The Displacements are a young new band with big ideas and even bigger songs. If you’ve been fortunate enough to witness one of their turbulent live shows you will have seen the throng of kids going suitably mental and usually one or two naked stage divers, It Is the midlands!. The band have caused such a fuss in their home town of Leicester, the charismatic and surprisingly charming young frontman Andy has found himself to be the heart throb to many young lasses, finding it difficult to go about the town unnoticed.
Duke
Since forming in 2006 through their love of improvised music, Duke have gone from strength to strength! The fusion of live vocals, beat-boxing, vocal percussion/basslines, harmonies and guitar is totally unique, not just in the UK, but the world! Duke incorporate Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, R&B, Drum & Bass, Reggae/Ska, House and even Indie Rock onto their sets! This led to Prince (the recording artist not the Royal ;-) personally requesting that Duke support him on his recent UK dates at the 02 arena! Duke’s show is consistently evolving and delivers high energy throughout with a set which covers contemporary as well as classic tracks, Duke try to add new songs to their performance every week!
Winners of Battle of the Bands
The winning participants in the Battle Of The Band (BOTB) will be performing for you at the May Ball. The winner has not been decided as of yet as the final of the event takes place on the 29th April in SUB so go show your support. If you can’t make it then we will let you know who won on the website so keep checking it out.
The Fillers
“The Fillers” were formed in late 2006 in the era of Sam’s Town around the small town of Bury St.Edmunds (Suffolk’s very own Las Vegas) “The Fillers” are the worlds premier tribute to “The Killers”. Based in a country where the band came to fruition “The Fillers” capture the sound, look and feel of the Vegas quartet performing tracks from Hot Fuss, Sam’s Town and Sawdust.
Harrison Drive
Harrison Drive formed during the autumn of 2006, and first took to the stage in October of that year performing at the Barfly in Liverpool. The band have continued to gig in and around Liverpool and Manchester over the last 12 months, and have recently completed the recording of their debut E.P at Parr Street studios in Liverpool, produced by Andrea Wright (Coldplay's “Parachutes”, and “A Rush Of Blood To The Head”) and features five songs. Recently recognised by BBC Liverpool with unsigned band award.
Harrison Drive was formed by guitarist's Ben Jones and Ben Huyton, the line up being completed with the introduction of drummer Jack Wade and vocalist/guitarist Mikey Ryan.
Harrison Drive are a band that plays songs about love, loss, life, and death, with a passion and energy . Simple, honest, and direct songs that the listener can instantly relate to filled with melodies that will swim around your head indefinitely. No tricks, no gimmicks, just a band.
With residents: TBC
Blends - The Acoustic Stage
Lucy Milford
Kev Andrews
Ben E.G
Solar Latino
Luke
Ryan Lauder
The Fairground
